Hall of Fame: Tim Baxter: On Solid Ground

Tim Baxter remembers one night way back when his father Jerry picked him up from his part-time job as busboy at the Harbor Restaurant in Parsippany, N.J. Jerry noticed the toll the long day had taken on his son.

“Well, you have two choices,” he said, as the two talked about the future. “You can choose to either work with your hands or work with your head. But remember, if you work with your hands you have to have a really good skill.”

And if you work with your head, Jerry taught his son over the years, you have to be able to connect with people and be willing to laugh at yourself. Most important, he said, you have to be humble.

I bought a Samsung surround sound system five years ago based on the reputation of the company. The system broke down, the receiver went bad. I wanted to buy just the receiver. I was told several times that this was not possible since their business model was to get the consumer to but new products after so many years.